What term describes an immense natural gas deposit trapped in clathrate structures with water?

• A. Coalbed Methane
• B. Gas Hydrate
• C. Shale Gas
• D. Tight Gas

Answer: (B)

Gas hydrate refers to methane stored as a solid in water ice lattices, forming clathrate structures. Under high pressure and low temperature, methane molecules fit inside cages of water molecules, creating a stable, ice-like compound. These deposits lie in ocean sediments along continental margins and in permafrost regions, and they can contain enormous amounts of methane. This storage form is different from other natural gas types: coalbed methane is methane trapped and adsorbed in coal seams; shale gas resides in tiny pores within shale rock; and tight gas is methane held in low-permeability rock where extraction relies on fracturing. Gas hydrates present both energy potential and challenges, since destabilization (by warming or depressurization) can release methane into the environment.